Author's Lounge

There are 1324 black spots on Maharashtra roads, more than double the previous year`s. Actually that`s a huge underestimation: there are billions and billions of black spots in Mumbai alone. In fact, the whole of…

Mumbai Notebook November 16, 2018 ‘Judicial overreach’. It`s a phrase heard often, and I have written articles on it, as has every single columnist in the land. With some justification too, because the courts,…

As the RSS-BJP’s initial expectations to build Ram Temple were dashed by the SC decision to defer hearing to January, Sangh Parivar will now outsource the Ram Mandir agitation to seers and monks The best…

The City by Prakhar Pathrikar (Jury Chosen) I hear this city. It's puffed sighs on an empty belly. Wind chiming dreams and responsibilities together, spooking timid titanium hearts from behind. I gush through these crowded…

Anam Fatima (Jury Choice) I wrote this piece for children. It is dedicated to all the differently abled and to all the people associated with these beautiful human beings. It is dedicated to understanding…

October 29, 2018 Royal Opera House, not so long ago abandoned and derelict, seemed ready for the demolition squad’s hammer blows. But the Opera House`s owners, the erstwhile Maharaja and Maharani of Gondal proved that…

Story and Poetry Writing Contests were held at Hinduja College in South Mumbai and St Andrew’s College in North Mumbai and were open to students from all over the city. Participants were given prompts which…

JAMES BOSWELL’S LEGENDARY biography of Samuel Johnson was based on first-hand experience of living, working and travelling with the great man for most of his life. Ramachandra Guha, denied that privilege, has done the next…

The Modi government has run out of intellectual capital and this explains its stall in key sectors and fading momentum. Let’s set it up with three questions. Is the Narendra Modi government talent-averse? Second, if…

Someone should calm Virat Kohli down and make him study the situation instead of screaming at it “We made England earn their win.” That and similar other uncharacteristically modest statements formed the gist of Virat Kohli’s…

Nearly seventy-one years after adopting one of the world’s most liberal constitutions, India can finally celebrate the expunging of a nasty colonial-era provision in its penal code, Section 377, which criminalised ‘whoever voluntarily has carnal…

Those who worked with him and those whose lives he touched knew the former United Nations Secretary-General possessed a rare ingredient not always found in successful men – he was a wonderful human being. …

Never has the separation of powers between executive and legislative organs been more necessary than today. It has become increasingly clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi runs a parliamentary system in a presidential style. This gives Indians…

Some four million people in Assam state, nearly all of them Bengali Muslims who have lived in India for more than four decades, are at risk of disenfranchisement after being excluded from the National Registry…

A brilliantly-researched book says that free trade under colonialism served India’s economic interests wonderfully. Nehruvian socialism did not. What a delight to find a history of Indian capitalism pac­ked with enough econometric and statistical data…

Next to where we live in the city`s South, Metro work (‘Mumbai is upgrading’) starts at 6 AM. That’s by their clock, which more often than not, has no relation to other time-pieces. The banging and digging…

VR is a new technology that already seems rather old-fashioned. We've had VR headsets for years, which never seem to take off. There have been a bunch of virtual worlds too. I read an essay about Second Life recently— remember…

A Rahul Gandhi who hugs his inner Pappu is Narendra Modi’s clear challenger and target for 2019. This Friday’s debate on the Opposition’s no-confidence motion answers several questions. First, should the Opposition let the BJP…

The Prime Minister of India boasts of his government`s achievements whenever and wherever he speaks. Following His Master`s Voice, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra does likewise. Here`s his latest statement, delivered to the Assembly with…

Who called it the ‘Beautiful Game’? There are many claimants but the one who made it synonymous with football was the legendary Pele with his autobiography, My Life and the Beautiful Game. Tonight when France plays Croatia in…

Hindi cinema is the richest, starriest business in our popular culture, way ahead of even cricket. Why is it also the most pusillanimous too, and also going with the wind? Since this argument is about…

IT’S A SAD reflection of our times that smearing and libelling our now-distant colonial past have become a popular substitute for soul-searching about our own failures, abuses and atrocities in the present. With popular and…

If the Royals are here, can the paparazzi be far behind? Stating the obvious perhaps, so ubiquitous have the massed photographers become that they are now an accepted part of the scenery (Sadly, everyone seems…

The story of the last four years is one of missed opportunities and dashed hopes, of waiting for achhe din that never came, of seeing expectations raised to the heights by lofty rhetoric, only to come crashing…

The longest running play in the world in not a musical. In fact, it is a murder mystery called The Mousetrap which has been running in London`s St Martin`s Theatre since 1952. That`s 68 years! Based on Agatha Christie`s…

A series of bypoll losses has pushed the Modi government into panic mode. Uncharacteristically, it’s letting events dictate its actions. Throwing good money after bad money is an old truism. But throwing good money after…

The sun rarely shines on Hay. I know that's a poor pun, but the literary festival's name lends itself to such wordplay, besides which the weather often plays spoilsport. Not that it deters the crowds,…

From top banker to shit. Sounds like a good tabloid headline, doesn’t it? But Naina Lal Kidwai, former Chairman, HSBC India, won’t mind, because she has taken up the cause of sanitation in right earnest.…

From top banker to shit. Sounds like a good tabloid headline, doesn’t it? But Naina Lal Kidwai, former Chairman, HSBC India, won’t mind, because she has taken up the cause of sanitation in right earnest.…

As 53 world leaders prepare to gather in London for this year’s edition of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM, 2018), it would be all too easy for some to dismiss the biennial event as a byproduct of…

If there was ever any doubt that the current dispensation is compromising all institutions in this country three judgments of various courts across the nation in the last week have decisively proved that both individual…

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed into a gigantic insect.” You might recognise the opening lines of Franz Kafka`s novella Metamorphosis: these are some of the most famous opening lines…

Sophia and Tariq were part of a large, noisy family. There were plenty of cousins with foreign accents and grand aunts with loud cackles. They gathered in Mumbai every couple of years to attend weddings,…

British efforts led to the discovery of Sanchi stupas, Ajanta caves, and deciphering of the Brahmi script thus enabling reconstruction of a good chunk of our history. [caption id="attachment_3674" align="alignnone" width="1268"] Southern gateway of Stupa…

If big politics is now mostly about headline management, BJP has emerged its unassailable practitioner Look back on the headlines screaming out of your front pages and causing prime time shoutrage about a week ago.…

For India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, religion is not a matter of personal belief, but a key feature of traditional identity politics and crucial to maintaining social order, ensuring discipline and conformity, and preventing radical…

Two of Mumbai`s biggest public events happen within one month of each other. There`s the Mumbai Marathon in January (described in the last Notebook) and there's the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in February. Just concluded,…

The big and stately Gulmohar in our driveway hasn’t shed a leaf this winter. I hadn’t paid attention to its rebellion until I browsed through my Instagram photos. Two identical photos of the Gulmohar (one…

2018 may unfold a politics of performance over identity, of hope over fear in India Gazing into a crystal ball is never easy, especially since these days the image tends to get cloudy rather unexpectedly.…

Sixty eight per cent of the time of the previous Lok Sabha was lost to BJP-led disruptions. It is hardly surprising that UPA members have decided to emulate their predecessors. As Parliament’s delayed winter session…

The only way we can confront him is by rebuilding our democracy into one which protects the likes of Afrazul and Akhlaq. Shambhulal is the middle-class protagonist of Hindutva who destroys our secular dreams and our…

[caption id="attachment_3393" align="alignnone" width="1240"] Harvey Weinstein after the 2016 Academy awards ceremony. Photograph: Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images[/caption] How did he get away with it? We have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.…

On Stage : November 2017 by Anil Dharker A word one hears more and more often nowadays is ‘dystopian’. You come across it in book or film reviews: ’the writer`s/director`s dystopian vision of the world’…

Literature Live! 360@Campus announces its Story and Poetry Writing Contest 2017! Prompts will be provided on the spot on the basis of which participants have to craft their entry. Participants can come any time between 1:30…

Article for The Independent August 15, 2017 Anil Dharker Mine is a family of hoarders. Nothing worth any money sadly, but perhaps full of precious memories? Yet what memories can old bank statements (in…

Mumbai Notebook July 26, 2017 by Anil Dharker Victorias may finally ride into the sunset. For outsiders that sentence will make no sense, but Mumbaikars will know what it means: that the familiar clip-clop of…

London Notebook by Anil Dharker Not by design but by pure chance, I happened to be in Londonduring two important events - the Brexit vote, and now the general elections. The results of both were unexpected…

Oh Romeo, Romeo by Keki N. Daruwalla What next for UP police? Keeping a headcount of legit butchers, and confiscating meat cleavers? I am told there is much excitement in Firenze, Milano and Roma over…

A dearth of designers by Quasar Thakore Padamsee Since theatre activity was sporadic and also cash-strapped, designers find it virtually impossible to make a living off of it. There is no question that theatre in…

School’s out, what should our children do? by Manu Joseph As children spend summer vacations preparing for the serious business of life, are they losing their ability to practise boredom? In the summers, city children…

Aishwaryaa on the apple box... by Shobhaa De A ravishingly beautiful young woman with fresh mehendi drying on her palms, walked upto me at a high profile wedding in Udaipur recently, and whispered, “I am…

The Last Bastion of a Profitable Press by Shashi Tharoor NEW DELHI – Around the world, newspapers seem to be facing imminent extinction, as a mass exodus to the Internet causes their circulation to slump…

Japan’s Greatest Novelist Junichiro Tanizaki’s “The Maids” presents a servants’-eye view of upper-class life. By Chandrahas Choudhury Novels, like life, tend not to take much notice of maids. In most novels domestics serve only to…

A year of reading Adam Smith by Chandrahas Choudhury The founding father of liberal economics was also a brilliant philosopher, historian and prose stylist. After many months spent in his company, the reader learns of…

The City and the Writer: In Mumbai with Chandrahas Choudhury By Nathalie Handal [caption id="attachment_3078" align="aligncenter" width="530"] Chandrahas Choudhury. Courtesy of the author.[/caption] If each city is like a game of chess, the day when…

Gabriel García Márquez, The Art of Fiction No. 69 interviewed by Peter H. Stone Gabriel García Márquez was interviewed in his studio/office located just behind his house in San Angel Inn, an old and lovely section,…

Mumbai Diary by Anil Dharker Do other cities have famous landmarks, so famous that they are recognised even by the notoriously ignorant tribe of taxi drivers, yet do not actually exist? Mumbai had three: Kemp`s…

Book Review : Age of Anger: A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra by Ashwani Kumar Age Of Anger is vintage Pankaj Mishra, the literary iconoclast. He is also a maverick political thinker—edgy, sly…

Imagine being brought up in a two-storeyed house made of exposed concrete and brick. The living and dining areas are airy, double-height rooms with a bridge that runs across, connecting the two wings of the…

Warren Hastings ‘Loved India a Little More Than His Own Country’. OPEN ESSAY by Zareer Masani AS WE CELEBRATE 70 years of independence, is it time to acknowledge that it was the first British Governor-…

India Conquered: Britain’s Raj & the Chaos of Empire by Jon Wilson Book Review by Zareer Masani Another history of the Raj invites comparison with its two most distinguished predecessors, Penderel Moon’s The British Conquest &…

The wealth of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation IT IS A truth universally acknowledged that the BMC is in want of good management. For the uninitiated, those initials once stood for the Bombay Municipal Corporation. But when…

Many modern apologists for British colonial rule in India no longer contest the basic facts of imperial exploitation and plunder, rapacity and loot, which are too deeply documented to be challengeable. Instead they offer a…

On Stage March 2017 The talking point last month was the Symphony Orchestra of India`s production of Puccini`s La Boheme. The first question was, “Why is SOI calling it La Boheme Revisted?” Opera buffs opined it…

What Indian politicians can learn from Shakespeare’s play. THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY of the death of William Shakespeare has come and gone and was dutifully registered in our media with a slew of articles about his…

Jaipur Diary January 30 2017 A local newspaper in Jaipur interviewed some of the bright young things thronging the packed central square at the event venue. “‘Festival dressing is the in thing’ “’ exclaims Juhi,…

TRUE LIES Anil Dharker A new year is a time of look forward to new beginnings, new adventures, new explorations. It says something about human beings’ innate optimism, that however bad the previous year…

Bombay Diary January 9, 2017 About a month ago, the Maharashtra government changed the name of Mumbai`s Central Railway terminus and its international airport. Again. To recap, the railway terminus at Bori Bunder, a…

Bombay Diary January 2, 2017 Resuming this column after a mere six weeks, I find that the whole world has turned topsy-turvy. For starters (and middles and enders), Donald trumped Hilary. And Narendra Modi,…

The road to new Medina. THE YEAR 2017 will mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of India and Pakistan. While official Independence celebrations will no doubt be organised on both sides of the Radcliffe…

Shakespeare Raise the curtain, Shakespeare, Your characters wait in the wings, Adorned in their costumes Their make-up done Their lines memorized – Lines that resonate Four-hundred years later With the same conflicts: To be…

On Stage November 2016 Every November, Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest attaches itself firmly to almost all venues of NCPA. That`s because Mumbai’s international literary festival is not just a Literature Live! event, or a Tata event,…

Mountain Echoes (Written for Dhaka Tribune on September 5, 2016) Nothing quite prepares you for the magical landing in Paro; one of the world’s most dangerous airports. It’s breathtaking setting amid green peaks of Bhutan’s Himalayan range…

Amish Tripathi: In our culture, we've always believed that even the Gods cannot judge (Published in FirstPost on October 15, 2016, Written by Prayag Arora - Desai and Sohini Guha) Since his unprecedented…

Something of Nothing (Written for London Library magazine) Rakesh winced as the car lurched into a pothole. A tremor of annoyance radiated through the hand that he rested on the steering wheel. He had taken his…

Patna Roughcuts (Written for Granta on March 31, 2015) 1 When I was a boy in Patna in the seventies, the Boring Road crossroad boasted two businesses that were popular among the locals. One was Quality…

The Many Faces of Lord Ganesha(Written for The Taj Magazine in the First Quarter, 2002) The remover of all obstacles and bestower of wishes, he is worshipped in myriad expressions of form and material…

The Lore of Renuka (Written for mid-day on April 22, 2012) A sacred narrative needs to be distinguished from a parable (story with moral ending), a fable (story with animals that express human emotions),…

Set Kanhaiya Free, Dissent is not Anti - National (Written for NDTV.com on February 24, 2016) A great deal has already been written about the arrest of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and the ensuing national…

Rituals of Writing (Written for Hindustan Times for May 3rd, 2015) I am writing this on a train. It is dark outside, the dark window reflecting the interior of the bright-lit train car, the beige plastic…

The sanctioned, sleeping beauties awake (Written for Gateway House on June 2nd, 2016) There is something about American sanctions on countries. They are thorough. They are brutal. They strangle the financial system and beggar the population,…

A conundrum called Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. Kiran Nagarkar (Written for Sueddeutsche Zeitung) Let me start with an anecdote. Just a few months after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India,…

The cause of problems - What some Kashmiris owe other Kashmiris (Written for The Telegraph on September 3rd, 2016) I was reading a recent interview with Adonis, the great Syrian poet who is frequently mentioned as…

Happy Under the Padishah (Written for Outlook India Magazine) It’s a measure of Tipu Sultan’s charisma that, two centuries on, an Australian histo­rian has spent most of her academic life studying the man and his reign.…

The Man Who Invented Poetry The violence and passion of Afzal Ahmed Syed (Written for Caravan Magazine on June 1st, 2016) My first encounter with the work of the Karachi-based Urdu poet Afzal Ahmed Syed left me…

HANGOVERS (For Independent dated December 13th, 2014) According to Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man Despite authorities tightening their grip on the causes of hangovers, the hangover itself enjoys halcyon days. It can only mean one thing: authorities…

Requiem for the BDD Chawls Kiran Nagarkar (Originally pulished in The Hindu on Jan 24th, 2016) Illustration - Satwik Gade It appears that by now it’s well nigh impossible to de-link my two protagonists, Ravan and…

Literature Live! is excited to announce the second edition of our Creative Writing Contest - Story and Poetry Writing! Come on over and show off the writer that lives inside you. - Participants will be…

In her younger days, my sister Minal Dharker was an accomplished Bharat Natyam dancer. Watching her practice, rehearse and perform with her guru, Kubernath Tanjorkar, I became reasonably familiar with the idiom of Bharat Natyam.…

Regular readers of this column will know that Literature Live!, the little organisation I started, runs the annual Mumbai International Literary Festival every November. In addition, there are fortnightly Literature Live! Evenings when writers talk…

Students at SNDT College, Churchgate were delighted to be introduced to Literature Live! workshop on Narrative Conflict. Despite the capacity of 25 people, double the number showed up, actively participating in the workshop.

Students at St. Andrews were delighted to be introduced to Literature Live! workshop on Narrative Conflict. Despite the capacity of 25 people, double the number showed up, actively participating in the workshop.

To those who are disappointed with India`s Olympic performance, I would say only one thing: what were you expecting? If you know anything about world standards in athletics and field games, you know that our…

In Bihar, drinking liquor is worse than terror,rape or murder. If that sounds like an outlandish statement, consider the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016 and the revised Bihar Special Courts Act through which special courts…

Stratford upon Avon in the summer of 2016 is the place to be. After all, this is Shakespeare's birthplace and this is the 400th anniversary of his death. The Bard, as Shakespeare is universally known,…

Polaris kickstarts the Department of mass media festivals in Mumbai and is a much coveted one. This year Lit live! 360 @campus collaborated with them to hold a workshop on Writing Sonnets by Sampurna Chattarji…

London Diary / July 9, 2016 July in England means the sun occasionally coming out of purdah, locals walking about in flimsy tee shirts while we jettison our overcoats for pullovers. It means children tugging…

Indian Express What is Brexit about? Is it about Britain leaving the European Union? Is it about the disruption this has caused in the world economy? Is it about hyper-nationalism and the fear of immigrants…

Bombay Diary 24th June 2016 Many years ago, a British literary magazine held a contest for the most boring headline. The winner went something like this: SMALL EARTHQUAKE IN CHILE/ NOT MANY INJURED. What would…

Bombay Diary 17th June 2016 India must be the most movie-crazy, star-obsessed country in the world. Yet, how many books are there on Bollywood heroes and heroine? Very, very few. One of the reasons could…

Literature Live, in association with Theatre Group, calls for entries for playwriting for the Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwriting 2016, to recognize upcoming talent in the same field. For more details, write to theatregroup@shunyata.in .

Here is everything you need to know about attending Mumbai's largest literature festival. Passes to the festival are available from the morning of the day of the session. Register and collect your passes for…

BY MEGHA SOLANKI SOUND OK HORAN Do you know that sound? The rumbling monster taking over. Mystical it looks, Monstrous it feels; There's power in its body, Force in its thrusts; You feel like ignoring it…

BY PRAKRITI VASHISHTHA LIQID TEA AVAILABLE HERE Tea, for Dadi is milky but without the cream Dadi's son, however, relishes the aftertaste of cardamom. Dadi's better half, would deride the drink to be the…

BY MAYANK SOOD AND TIGRAN WADIA THE MAD MAN’S CONSPIRACY ‘‘Jaago grahak Jaago’’, screamt the mad man. Nobody paid heed to him. He continued with his endeavour. All would hear him, none would listen. Sujoy had…

MEANT FOR SOMEONE ELSE. – Divya Samtani No amount of books on childbirth you memorise can prepare you for the excruciating, body tearing pain that comes in the chance circumstance you push another human out…

Literature in the Australian Commonwealth characteristically expresses collective values, perhaps more so than in other parts of the world. Even the experiences of the individual are viewed through a representative lens, with the aim of…

Revathy "Amma", her voice goes as she strides barefoot towards the entrance door. The inkling of her silver anklets still echoing in the silent dark room. Her forehead kissed with a big red moon placed…

Alanna Mitchell is an award-winning Canadian journalist and author, who writes about science and social trends. Her most recent full-length book, Sea Sick:The Global Ocean in Crisis, is an international best seller that won the prestigious US-based Grantham…

Arshia Sattar has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago's Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. Her translations of the Sanskrit texts Kathasaritsagara (1993) and Valmiki's Ramayana (1996) have been published by Penguin Books.…

LITLIVE EVENINGS

We are celebrating the success of Ramachandra Guha`s latest book, Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World. TheGuardian called Guha 'Gandhi`s finest biographer'. He is that for sure, but he is also a wonderful chronicler…

The eagerly anticipated annual event is here! The Literature Live! Independence Lecture, presented by JSW in association with The Oberoi will be held on Monday, August 6 at 6.30 PM at the Trident Rooftop (Oberoi…

The next Literature Live! Evening brings to our attention the life and thoughts of a person many consider Hinduism`s greatest thinker, Adi Shankaracharya. The author is Pavan K Varma, former Foreign Service Officer, Rajya…

We know more about the US than we know about our North Eastern states. Avalok Langer, a young journalist, travelled across these states, met a cross-section of people including leading militants, to find out the reality that…

Those of you who attended our litfest last November, will remember Naina Lal Kidwai`s session on sustainable development. We are happy to launch her book on the same subject, Survive Or Sink, An Action…

Here`s yet another special Literature Live! Evening. This features Shashi Tharoor, star MP, wonderful writer and speaker, in conversation with Anil Dharker about his new book Why I am a Hindu. The book is an eloquent…

The next Literature Live! Evening explores many new avenues. To start with, the venue is the glittering Royal Opera House, where we collaborate with Avid Learning to release Chandrahas Choudhury's Clouds, a quintessentially Bombay novel…

The year`s second Literature Live! Evening promises to be as interesting as the first : We are launching legendary English Cricket Captain Mike Brearley`s new book On Form. Those who know their cricket will remember that Brearley motivated the…

On December 20 at 6.30 PM at NCPA`s Little Theatre, we celebrate naturalist-writer-photographer Sanjoy Monga`s strikingly handsome Flow: India Through Water. Its theme is expressed in this simple, yet profound line -- 'water is…

Someone once asked Sudha, "How is it that you come across so many interesting stories?" She replied, "So does everyone. But I listen, and I write." We are releasing her latest book, Three Thousand Stitches, at…

Literature Live and Tata Trusts in association with NCPA Mumbai invite you to a talk by Rahul Mehrotra on "The City in Books : Collaborations, Research & Advocacy". Followed by a conversation with Anil Dharker. Seating on a…

The next Literature Live! Evening features Tata Son`s Brand Custodian, Harish Bhat, whose book is called The Curious Marketer. Now 'curious' could mean either 'eager to know or learn', or it could mean 'strange,…

The next Literature Live! Evening promises to be a wonderful one for lovers of literature and the novel. It features Amitava Kumar, the Helen D Lockwood Professor of English at Vassar College,which as you know,…

The next Literature Live! Evening features a very special book, historian Ramchandra Guha`s seminal book, India After Gandhi, now being reissued in a special tenth anniversary edition. Its subtitle, 'The History of the World`s Largest…

The next Literature Live! Evening brings you the author of a very topical book, This Is Not America, whose splendid cover, showing the Statue of Liberty behind bars, says it all (See card attached). The author, Alan Friedman, is a…

The next Literature Live! Evening promises to be a provocative one. Crooked Minds by Kiran Karnik may suggest that the book is about our usual national malaise, but the book's sub-title - Creating an Innovative Society - tells us that the…

The next Literature Live! Evening is on the extremely topical subject of Demonetisation. C. Rammanohar Reddy is just the right man to write a book on this, having been Editor of the authoritative magazine Economic…